There once was a time when if you mentioned “Hyundai” in a car discussion at a Honda or Ford area Kansas City new car dealer, those around you might smirk as though in a best pizza discussion you had brought up Sbarro.  This smirking reaction might not have been grossly inappropriate at the time.  Remember, folks in and around Kansas City?  Used Hyundai Sonatas were a dime a dozen…people couldn’t give them away and new ones didn’t have a lot of appeal, either.  Hyundai has only been manufacturing powertrains from its own design for about twenty years now, so these early vehicles had no legs to stand on, so to speak.  Putting a Hyundai Sonata up against other vehicles was an invitation for ridicule. Continue Reading…